Love, Hate, or Something In Between
by mikaelaa
Summary: Sasuke is gone and Sakura convinces herself she is over him. 2 yrs later they are a lot stronger and Sakura has made it her goal to kill him. What'll happen when they're both sent on missions to capture each other. Is it love, hate or something in between
1. He broke my heart i'll break his

Sasuke has now been gone for two years. No one in Konoha has forgotten him… he is just never mentioned.

Naruto still wishes he hadn't held back on breaking Sasuke's arms and legs from their last encounter, when Sasuke left, and bringing him back to Konoha.

Kakashi started to regret teaching Sasuke chidori and the proper use of the sharingan in the chunnin exams.

Shikamaru wished he could have killed that Sound Nin to go help Naruto and the others.

Ino… well, Ino just wished Sasuke would come back… not as much for her… but for Sakura.

Sakura, though, thought very differently than the others did. Her feelings for Sasuke were almost the exact opposite of what they once were. It's not that she didn't want to see him… she had to… to kill him. That was now her goal, her ambition.

The first few months after Sasuke's betrayal were hard on her. She cried every day and wished he would come back to her, back to their team. Sakura was in such a horrible state of depression, even Ino kept her company, causing the two to become good friends again. Ino was always there for Sakura when she was going through another stroke of heartbreak for Sasuke. Though she was not needed for that for much longer, eventually over the four months Sasuke had been gone, Sakura taught herself to get over him, liking him less and less every day. Soon, her feelings for Sasuke changed from warm feelings of love and care to cold ones of hate and anger. She often thought what she ever saw in a guy who would throw everything away, a home, friends, and someone who cared so deeply for you, just to get revenge. Sakura started to see Sasuke's ambition as selfish and horrible. He broke her heart and hurt many others just to gain some power. She couldn't stand those kind of people. They were the kind of people that Sakura would fight and kill during missions. Sakura Haruno despised one person and one person only… Sasuke Uchiha. That had now become her decision, that the best way to rid her mind and herself of such a horrible person was simple… to kill them. And that was exactly what she intended to do.

Sakura had been training for a year and a half now and had improved greatly. She was as strong as the Hokage, her chakra control was flawless, and she became the best medical Nin around… other than Tsunade of course, who Sakura had been training under. And in addition to that she had learned three major techniques too. Sakura was now capable of summoning jutsu, a slug like Tsunade's, a self healing jutsu, (also like Tsunade's) and her own original jutsu, involving the release of Inner Sakura.

"I will kill him. I'm going to train, and work hard." Sakura said to herself, a look of anger spread across her face. She sat on a post in the training grounds. She had just finished a long day of punching, kicking and chakra control. "He broke my heart… so I'm gonna break his."


	2. Sakura's Mission

Naruto was walking over to Ichiraku's for some evening ramen. While he passed team 7's old training area he noticed a figure sitting on the post he was tied to about three years ago, now… it was Sakura. She sat there, sweating and breathing heavily, a frown on her face. Ever since Sasuke disappeared Sakura refused to smile. She always wore a frown or a calm, concentrated look. And not only Naruto had noticed the change in Sakura but the others did too. She had developed a fiery temper, and snapped at anyone, if not threatening to kill them, for saying anything that concerned Sasuke or Orochimaru. Naruto was really worried. Sakura was one of his close, yet extremely violent, friends. He had noticed that very recently Sakura had been acting more and more like Sasuke. All she would ever talk about was killing, and missions, if she talked at all. Now, he thought of it, Naruto hadn't had a proper conversation with Sakura for about five months. They had plenty of chances to talk, they had been on several missions together over the past few months, but had barely said a word to one another. Naruto sensed that Sakura was starting to build an 'I-don't-want-to-talk-leave-me-alone-or-die' barrier around herself, exactly like Sasuke's. What was happening to his teammates?

Soon Naruto realized he was just standing there staring at Sakura, lost in his own thoughts. All of a sudden she was gone from her perch on the post.

"Were you spying on me?!?!" Sakura shouted, reappearing behind Naruto in the blink of an eye.

"AHH!!! N-no… of course not Sakura-chan!" Naruto stuttered, whirling around to face a very pissed pink haired kuniochi.

She squinted at him, trying to see if he was lying. "Whatever." She said giving up and walking past him back over to the training grounds.

"Phew. That was a close one." Naruto sighed to himself. Sakura was standing in front of the post again. She gave it a simple punch, as it blew up sending chunks of wood everywhere. 'She's scarier than before!' Naruto thought. Luckily he wasn't the only one who feared the kuniochi… almost all other Konoha ninja did, other than Tsunade and Ino of course. No one in the village dared to challenge her to a battle, so she asked to be sent out on many missions to get in some _practice_. A-rank mission _practice_.

"Yo, Naruto." Said Kakashi calmly, appearing behind Naruto.

"AAHHH!!! Kakashi-sensei! Grr… why is everyone sneaking up on me today?!"

"Oh. Sorry. Anyways, Tsunade wants to see you and Sakura in her office, right now ."

"Me and Sakura? Why?"

"Don't ask me, just following orders." Kakashi replied disappearing into a poof of white smoke and leaves.

"Damn, I hate when he does that… oh… right… Hey, Sakura-chan?!?!"

"What is it Naruto?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed.

"Tsunade wants to see us, right now! C'mon!"

"So you two finally made it." Tsunade said as Naruto and Sakura entered her office filled with another 9 chunnin and jounin. (There was her, Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Rock Lee, TenTen, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji, and Shino.)

"What is everyone else doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sending you all on a very important mission."

'Yes! This has to be it! The moment I've been training for! Sasuke is so gonna die!' Sakura thought, with an evil smirk across her face causing Naruto and Kiba to back away slightly.

"I've got a hunch that Orochimaru's plan will take place soon. I want you to all make one last attempt of bringing 'the Uchiha' back to Konoha, if you fail Orochimaru's power will be great. Possibly too great for our village to handle. If you do not succeed in this mission Konoha might as well be destroyed now. I'm counting on you guys, don't disappoint me."


	3. After Two Years

A/N: Sorry my first two chapters were so short! This one is a lot longer! And also, I'm inspired by reviews so if you have any tips or corrections for my story… REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!! (I don't mind flames too much either. Just avoid swearing at me please!) Improvements are appreciated! –NoOnesGal1848

"Hey, Uchiha," Kabuto said, emerging from the darkness in front of Sasuke.

"Lord Orochimaru wants to see you in his office, immediately."

"What does he want now?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, after Kabuto disappeared into a poof of smoke.

"Sasuke," Orochimaru hissed, as Sasuke appeared before him.

"Hn?"

"I'm sending you on a very important mission."

'A mission? I've only been on one mission since I got here two years ago. This better be important.'

"What is it?" Sasuke replied coldly.

"Your mission is to return to Konoha,"

'What?!?! What kind of mission is that? I can't go back yet! I'm not strong enough! That-'

"And there you will capture a certain person and bring them to me."

"Hn. You mean Naruto right?"

"No. That pink-haired Kunoichi, Sakura Haruno. It is believed that her skills are even able to pass those of the Hokage herself. Her full power may be even greater than the Nine-Tailed Fox's."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked in the darkness. 'Orochimaru wants me to capture Sakura? Why would a weak kunoichi be any use to him? It's simply a rumor that she has great power. Sakura could barely even stay alive on our missions back when we were Gennins. Naruto and I always had to save her. Useless…'

Sakura's POV

They all jumped through the tree tops, heading for the Hidden Sound Village. Sakura was amazingly happy and joyful. 'Finally, all my training will pay off!' 'YES!!! This is the kinda mission I'm talk'n about!!!' Yelled Inner Sakura, getting ready to kick some Uchiha ass.

"…Stop!" Sakura whispered harshly. Everyone halted. A single kunai flew through the trees heading right towards the side of Sakura's face. She caught it, about an inch away from her cheek, with her index and middle finger.

"Who's there?!" Naruto shouted. "Show yourself coward!"

"Naruto! Shut Up!" everyone stared at Sakura. "We've stumbled into a Genjutsu. I wasn't paying attention and missed it."

"Whose Genjutsu is it?" Rock Lee asked.

"I think it might be Kabuto's. Release!" Sakura said making a seal. Everyone else did the same, except Naruto who was sitting there drooling. "NARUTO!!!" Sakura shouted hitting him over the head, awakening him from the Genjutsu.

"Neji, Hinata use Byakugan!" whispered TenTen.

"BYAKUGAN!!!" The cousins shouted.

"See him?" TenTen asked.

"No. He left." Neji replied.

"Fine. Let's keep going." Kiba insisted, as he and the others set off again.

"How troublesome." A certain lazy-ass Nin said looking up at the clouds.

"Shikamaru!" Ino shouted, pulling him along behind the others, by his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow…"

They were close to the sound village now, and could see through the trees, a large clearing.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto whined.

"Naruto, you must be patient, a good ninja never gets restless!" Rock Lee stated, punching the air enthusiastically.

'The guy seems to get stranger every day… and more like his creepy sensei.'

"We're here." Neji said, turning on his Byakugan.

The ninja's stood in front of a partially underground mansion located in the middle of the woods.

"This is one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Be careful, there's bound to be traps everywhere. How troublesome."

Sasuke's POV

The raven-haired Uchiha jumped from branch to branch, tree to tree, through the deep forests of the area surrounding Konoha.

'Hn, lets make this quick. I need to do more training.' He thought. Sasuke quickly transformed into a random person as he approached the village. 'Hn. How should I find her? I could always go to the Hokage's office and request her for a mission. Hn, yeah, I'll do that.'

"How may I help you?"

"I need a ninja to escort me to the Rice Country. Do you happen to know if that legendary Medic Nin Haruno Sakura is able to do it?"

"Haruno Sakura? No, I'm sorry I just sent her out on a mission."

'Dammit! Now how am I supposed to find her?!'

"Oh, alright then." Sasuke, disguised as some old man, said walking out of the office. 'Hn. This is going to be harder than I thought.

Sakura's POV

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto shouted, as they all started to walk towards the half exposed castle, cautiously.

They walked across the clearing without any trouble, which worried them all.

"There were no traps." Ino said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, that does seem pretty suspicious." Neji said. "Knowing Orochimaru he would have them set all over the place… unless he wanted us in there…"

They all looked at Neji for a second wondering what he meant.

"So, you think the reason there were no traps is because Orochimaru wants us to enter his hideout?"

"Precisely."

"Yeah, but why would he want us to do that? It's not like we have anything he wants." Sakura spoke up, finally saying something after a long period of silence.

"I don't know."

"M-maybe we should have some go in a-and one or two stay outside, t-to watch guard."

"Great idea Hinata!" Naruto said making Hinata turn bright shades of red. "So, who wants to watch guard?"

"Not me. I have some catching up to do." Sakura said looking away maliciously.

"Then again, Sakura, maybe you should." Neji said.

"Yeah, Sakura, the mission is to bring him back to Konoha, to get information on Orochimaru's plans, not rip him to shreds." Said Ino. "If anything goes wrong, that will have to be our last resort, not our first."

"Yeah, Sakura, I can't help but agree." TenTen, Naruto, Kiba, and Rock Lee all agreed.

"Fine then, it's settled. Sakura you stand guard and if you sense any trouble you can come in."

"OH HELL NO!!!" Sakura shouted with an immediate outburst of anger. 'I've been waiting forever for this day to come; the day I could get Sasuke back for always hurting me, years ago. I'm not going to let them take the pleasure of killing him!!!' But right as Sakura stopped thinking she turned around to speak and found they had abandoned her. "UGH!!! You guys are so dead when you come back out!" She shouted leaning against the wall of the castle and slowly slipping down to her knees. She had her back to the castle as she stared intently into the woods.

"One of my few chances to kill him and I end up sitting outside staring at trees, for gods sake!!! This sucks…" she mumbled under her breath.

Sasuke's POV

'Damn. Hn… if she's on a mission, maybe I should try finding her in the woods. Tsunade did say she just left.' Sasuke thought finally making his decision and running, top speed out of the village gates and jumped back into the trees.

Sakura's POV

From staring so much and all the energy she used getting here as fast as possible, Sakura started to get tired. Her eyes were feeling heavy, half closed, as she drifted off into a light sleep.

"AAHHH!!!" Sakura woke up a while later as screams were heard, echoing through the castle.

"Who was screaming? Was that Hinata?" Sakura started to get up but sat back down instantly remembering what Naruto had said, 'Fine then, it's settled. Sakura you stand guard and if you sense any trouble you can come in.' "Ha! Wait a second. A scream is definitely a sign of trouble, so in I go!" Sakura exclaimed, unusually happy, as she stood up and ran inside the front entrance.

Sasuke's POV

'Shit. This will take forever. Sakura could be gone from her mission for days or weeks. Maybe I should head back, and come again later.'

Sasuke changed courses, heading the opposite way, back towards the Sound Village.

Sakura's POV

Sakura ran into the castle to find nothing. She couldn't sense any chakra near by and the screaming had stopped. She just stood there in the darkness, feeling around for a wall or something that she could follow. She soon stumbled over something on the floor, causing her to fall flat on her face.

"Ow…" She moaned sitting up. "What was that?" She crawled on the floor feeling for whatever it was she had tripped over. Her hand ran across a piece of fabric on the ground. She pulled it and found it was attached to something. Sakura patted the fabric and felt something hard underneath it… a person.

Realizing she had just touched a dead person Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. 'Wait a minute… what the hell am I doing, screaming over touching a dead person?! I'm a Medical Nin for god's sakes! But who is this person? And why are they just lying here? …oh, no… please don't tell me this is who I think it is… no… Naruto wouldn't be defeated that easily would he? Then again… this is Orochimaru we're talking about. How long was I asleep for? Oh, god.'

Sakura picked the person up and started to walk the way she thought she came from. Soon a light appeared at the end of the hallway. She wasn't sure what it was but ran straight to it. To Sakura's luck it was the exit.

She now stood outside, the same place as she was before. Sakura slowly looked down at the person she was carrying, and to her horror… it was Naruto. "OH MY GOD!!!" she shouted accidentally dropping Naruto's body. "This can't be happening!" 'Wait!!! Maybe he isn't dead yet. I can save him!' She knelt down on her knees and placed the side of her head on his chest listening for a heartbeat… nothing.

Sasuke's POV

'What was that noise?' Sasuke thought as he heard a faint scream coming from the direction he was heading. He sped up slightly, hoping maybe it was Sakura, so his mission would be complete.

Sakura's POV

'No… no… this can't be happening… it can't! Is everyone else dead too? I knew I should have gone in! Who could have done all this? Could it be… The Uchiha? I'm going to kill him! That bastard!!!' Sakura said clenching her fists. 'But wait… before I can do that… I have to go back and report this to Tsunade. If I kill him without permission to do so, I'll be a wanted Nin. Crap.' She stood up and punched the ground, pointlessly, to let out some anger. The rocks and dirt exploded and went flying everywhere.

'What's that? I sense someone's chakra. It's coming closer… who is it? What should I do? I'll have to ambush them… they could be an enemy.' Sakura hid behind a tree waiting for the person to get within her sight.

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke was heading straight back to one Orochimaru's hideouts. 'There is someone there. I can sense their chakra.' He thought. 'I'll have to be careful… they could be an enemy.' He was almost there now, the clearing was visible through the trees.

Sakura's POV

'They're getting closer, still. What if they aren't an enemy? What if it's an old man and I attack him? I'd be in so much trouble. Maybe I should just go towards them; let's just hope they aren't going to kill me, especially while I'm not prepared.' Gulp Sakura jumped out from behind the tree and into the woods, towards the chakra she was sensing.

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke stopped.

Sakura's POV

Sakura stopped.

Sasuke's POV

"S-Sakura?" he stuttered coldly.

Sakura's POV

Sakura's expression changed from one of surprise to one of anger. "Sasuke, you baka!"

Hope ya liked it!!! Please review! I need some ideas or comments. And, I need some help, in the next chapter do you think:

Sakura should fight Sasuke.

She should start to cry and say how much she missed him.

Sasuke should take Sakura back to Orochimaru.

Thanks! See ya!!! XD

-NoOnesGal1848 -


	4. I'm Sorry

**Hi! I'm back again! Thanks for the reviews! And I'm sorry I made Sakura scream in the last chapter. I agree it was a bit out of character. Thanks for giving me your opinion! Here's the next chapter, and I'm glad you guys helped me decide what to do, I just couldn't! I agree with this choice though! Thank you, cuchygirlmc, LittleAngelGirl97, Fire Valkyria, and the anonymous reviewers!!! **

**-NoOnesGirl1848**

**(a/n: The beginning of the chapter isn't so great but I think it gets a bit better towards the end.)**

**Ch. 4**

**I'm Sorry**

'Baka?' Sasuke thought. 'She's never called me anything but Sasuke-_kun. _She's changed.'

"Hn, Sakura."

"What?" She scowled.

"I have a mission to take you to Orochimaru. Just come with me and you won't have to get hurt, okay?"

"What?!?! Who do you think I am?! A five year old?!"

'Hn, she really _has_ changed.'

"You're despicable." Sakura muttered, getting into a fighting stance.

"Hn, what are you planning to do, Sakura? Fight me?" Sasuke replied coldly.

"Yep. You'll pay for what you did to Naruto and the others."

'What the hell is she talking about? I haven't seen Naruto or anyone else from Konoha in-'

His thoughts were interrupted, as a very angry Sakura rushed at him with a punch. 'Hn, she thinks she can beat me like that?'

He caught her fist with his right hand, skidding back on his feet about five yards. 'She's strong. But not strong enough. There still must be some of the old Sakura under that tough exterior. Hn, maybe I should test out my theory.' Sasuke thought, still holding her fist.

Sakura's POV

I threw a punch at him, which he caught, pushing him back. He smirked at me and I couldn't believe what happened next.

Sasuke, still holding my fist, intertwined his fingers with my own; my expression caused him to smirk even more.

My eyes widened, then my cheeks went light pink. 'This is so not happening.'

Sasuke's POV

The look on Sakura's face was priceless, thus widening Sasuke's smirk. 'I knew it. Sakura's still got the same weakness. Now it's my turn-'

Sakura's expression quickly changed as she plunged her fist into Sasuke's stomach, causing him to fly backwards and hit a tree. 'Ugh… How did she get that strong? Shit. This mission is going to be harder than I thought.'

"Now do you see, Traitor? I'm not the girl I used to be. I don't runaway or let anyone push me around anymore. And I've waited years for this chance… to kill you."

"Hn, kill me? I'd like to see you try. You're still the same person inside Sakura. You can't ever change that. You will always be the weak Kunoichi you were two years ago." Sasuke replied with ice in his voice as he stood up.

"Take that back." Sakura said looking down at the ground, her fists clenched at her sides.

"What?" Sasuke tormented.

"TAKE THAT BACK, YOU TEME!!!" Sakura shouted, running at Sasuke with a kunai in her left hand.

He pulled one out too, holding her off. He pushed her back to her staring position.

"Hn, you really think you can kill me like that?"

"No. I was just getting warmed up. The real fight begins now!" Sakura said making some hand signs. Green chakra flowed around her hands. 'So this is the kind of chakra control Orochimaru was talking about.'

"So are you just going to stand there or fight, Sakura?"

"Hm." Sakura smirked.

Sasuke felt something wrap around his ankles. 'Shit!' He thought looking down. 'Genjutsu. But how did she-?' He looked around to see a clone behind him. 'So, two techniques at once… interesting.' Now Sakura ran to him, ready to strike. He broke the Genjutsu, escaping from the vines that bound his ankles. Just before Sakura was able to hit him square in the face; instead she hit him on the shoulder, destroying some organs and cells. 'Ah! Dammit. I can't kill her, so I can't use chidori, and I can't keep getting hit either.'

Sakura cracked her knuckles and rushed at him again. He disappeared, as he did in the chunnin exams.

Sakura's POV

'Crap! Where did he go?' She thought, her eyes scanning the area. 'Well, I can't see him. So I only have one choice.'

Sakura pulled back her fist and punched the ground with all her strength. Rocks flew everywhere, giving her some time to sense his chakra. She spun around to find him running up to her with a kunai.

"You didn't think you could hide from me did you?" pulling out a kunai of her own. She threw it at him, he used replacement and turned into a log. "You're holding back! Fight me for real, Sasuke!!!"

"As you wish." The real Sasuke said appearing behind her, making some hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Oh. So that's how you wanna fight? Then I'll play it that way too." Sakura did the same, as two giant creatures appeared out of the smoke surrounding them. One a slug and the other a snake.

Sasuke's POV

'Summoning Jutsu? She can do it too? And she summoned… a slug?! The old Sakura would have freaked out seeing a slug… let alone a giant one. I wonder what Naruto is like if Sakura has changed this much. Maybe I shouldn't have left- what the hell am I thinking?! If I didn't leave, who would train me? Kakashi isn't quite strong enough and no way would I train with that perverted sannin. Leaving was the best choice… right?'

"Hey?!?! What the hell are you doing?! Fight!!!" Sakura shouted from on top of the pink and white slug. 'What is wrong with him? The _old_ Sasuke wouldn't miss a chance to kill his opponent. Was he holding back? Does he think I'm not strong enough? … Not worth his effort? I'll show him.' She clenched her teeth and fists, glaring at the emotionless Uchiha standing on top the snake.

"What?! Am I not good enough to fight you? Am I not worthy of your talent?! Huh?!?!"

"…"

He replied with one of his famous glares, showing no emotion. She hated that glare. It was like he was looking down upon her. Like he always used to. He still thought she was the same… weak,… helpless,… just something there to annoy him, get on his nerves and in his way. Her temper flared, nails digging into her palms, drawing blood. 'I'm going to kill him…'

Sasuke was deep in thought, and at first didn't notice Sakura was making more hand signs. He immediately pulled out a kunai and threw it to distract her. 'What could she be doing?' She easily dodged the kunai, continuing with her hand signs. She stopped and Sasuke smirked. 'Hn. So it was just a distraction. And now, I bet she's going to attack me from behind…' He looked up and Sakura disappeared into a poof of white smoke. 'A clone.' He turned around to find Sakura rushing at him, kunai at hand. 'Hn. Same old Sakura. She must have already run out of jutsus.' Instead of attacking him she threw it, making more hand signs.

"Kunai Shadow-clone Jutsu!" She shouted, as the kunai multiplied.

Sasuke caught one and used it to knock the others off course. Sakura once again disappeared into a cloud of smoke. 'What is with the clones?'

He knew where she was next. Sakura may have different jutsus and a way different attitude, but her battle plan would always be the same.

Sasuke spun around, to face Sakura who was once again making hand signs; a concentrated look crossed her delicate face.

'Hn, she looks kinda… cute.' He thought, his head tilted sideways, attempting to sort out his emotions.

Sasuke may have been in a daze, but that didn't stop Sakura continuing with her jutsu. The last hand sign was made and once again, green chakra flowed around both of her fists.

Noticing Sasuke's slightly dull, absent-minded look on his face; she took another run at him, ready to punch.

She pulled back her glowing right fist and thrusting it straight towards him. It hit. Her chakra filled fist hit an unaware Sasuke square in the face. He was sent flying back landing and skidding across the ground, bringing up the dust, as it suspended in the moist, afternoon heat.

Sakura's POV

'Yes! Bull's-eye! He's finished for sure now. If I could, I would do a victory dance. I can't believe he's finally-'

"Heh, heh, heh…" Sakura was immediately cut off by a strange noise echoing through the descending dust.

She squinted through the thick curtain of brown, to see a figure, surrounded in glowing chakra. He stood up, the dust clearing away. Sakura's green eyes widened.

There stood Sasuke. He was covered in black curse marks and large amounts of bright purple chakra flowed from his body, forming the shape of a fire. His hair was long and dark gray. An evil smirk spread across his face as he chuckled maliciously.

This Sasuke reminded her of… Orochimaru. For the first time in a long time Sakura felt a very strange emotion that had been harvested inside her for years… fear.

She stared into Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan activated eyes, a deep feeling of worry and terror vibrated in her mind. Bringing back images of the time when Sasuke got the curse seal. Back then his face held the same expression as it did now… an expression of evil, of murderous intent. And the thing that scared her most was… he looked like he enjoyed it. He looked like he didn't mind being possessed by evil. Being used and controlled. He looked like he wanted to kill. Kill out of pleasure, joy.

'What happened to the old Sasuke? The Sasuke who was on my team? The Sasuke who fought the curse seal? The Sasuke that… I loved. Where did he go? What did this new Sasuke do with him? Where is he? …Where?' The voice in her head grew quiet and distant.

Sakura fell to her knees, salty tears trickled down her cheeks. She just sat there, slumped and trembling.

"What-What's happened to t-the old Sasuke-k-_kun_?" Sakura mumbled, barely audible.

Sasuke, still smirking, walked over to her. He stood in front of her, kunai raised. Sakura knew exactly what was about to happen, yet could not bear to look up into his face. She knew it was the end.

Sasuke's POV

'What the hell am I doing?! Dammit! Don't let it gain control of you. Don't kill Sakura!'

He raised the kunai, ready to strike her with it. Ready to pierce her through the heart. To end her life. To end the life of the woman, that deep down, in the bottom of his stone cold heart… he loved.

'Why the hell do things have to end this way?!?! Why?!'

Sakura's POV

'Why must it end like this?' Sakura thought, quivering as she awaited the sharp pain of cold metal break through her skin.

'Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that when this first started I couldn't do anything. If I could have helped… things might not be this way. If I tried harder, trained more, got stronger… I could have saved you. I could have stopped you. But because I couldn't, I let things get too far. I let you get out of hand. I let you get possessed. It's all my fault. I couldn't do a thing. I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun… I'm so sorry.'

Sasuke's POV

'Goddamn curse seal! I- can't even- control my own- body.' Sasuke thought as he struggled to regain control and lower the kunai.

'Sakura… I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I'm such a coward. You were never afraid to show your feelings for me, but I was always too afraid to ever admit it to you. I always thought people would think I was weak if I did something like that. I should have told you long ago… that I felt the same. But instead, I was too scared and put you into this situation. I always told you, you were annoying, but you were the one person who kept this curse seal from taking over for so long. I'm sorry I never told you how I felt, Sakura, I'm sorry.'

End POV

The kunai advanced towards Sakura's back, as she trembled.

Sasuke had a look of hurt on his face, as he struggled with himself to release the kunai.

Images of the past flicked through both of their minds like an old movie. They remembered the mission in the land of waves, the chunnin exams in the forest of death, the time Sasuke left the village.

The sound of metal cutting through flesh pierced the air around them and a cry of pain echoed throughout the woods…

Then all was silent.

**Thanks! Please review! Oh! I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! We were buried in projects and tests in school!!! What a troublesome week… (Shika's influence. He's my BFF's fave character.) I need some more motivation for this story. Okay. Thanks! See Ya!!! XD**

**-NoOnesGal1848 **


	5. I love you and I always will

**Hey!!! Thank you so much ColtonsGurl540. You helped me move on to the next chapter. I finally decided what was going to happen. I really needed some motivation. Ok… on with the story!!!**

**-NoOnesGal1848**

**P.S. I think this might be the last one or two chapters of this story. But, I think I might write a short Valentines Day one before Wednesday!**

**Ch 5**

Blood spurted out of the newly caused wound, staining the kunai red.

Everything was a blur for Sasuke. It all happened so fast and his heart seemed to act on it's own, regaining a bit of control over his body.

He cringed as he swiftly pulled out the kunai from his upper arm, causing more blood to spill.

Sakura's POV

'What happened? Why am I not dead yet? …Or maybe I am…' Sakura steadily turned around from her crouched position.

Sasuke hovered over her; a blood dripping kunai was clenched in his right hand. His face wasn't visible, hidden beneath the shadows of his raven-colored hair. A single drop of blood fell from his wound, landing on her soft cheek, which was quickly washed away by her tears.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura stuttered quietly.

Sasuke's POV

'I can't believe it… I can't. I was this close to _killing_ Sakura. She almost died. _I_ almost killed her. This can't be happening. What's gone wrong with my life? Why can't it just go back to the way things used to be? Before the curse mark, before Orochimaru. What went wrong?'

Sasuke's knees started to tremble and soon buckled. He landed on his knees in front of Sakura, head still hung.

She stared at him wide eyed. And soon, like she did long ago, wrapped her arms around him in a reassuring embrace.

Sakura's POV

"S-Sasuke-kun…" She whispered, holding back her remaining tears.

"Sakura-chan… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." Sasuke replied, softly. "I'm such… an idiot. I can't believe what I almost did."

"S-Sa-Sasuke-kun… it's okay… are you alright?"

"Forget about me, dammit! You could have died!" He said, gruffly.

At this, Sakura stifled a small giggle. 'Does that mean Sasuke-kun actually… cares about me?'

"Yes… but I'm not. You stopped yourself… to save me. That alone is worth far more to me than an apology." She exclaimed, hugging him tighter.

He did the same and wrapped his strong arms around her. Sasuke looked up so he was face to face with her. He reached up and wiped away a tear from her cheek.

She pulled him back in, her head against his chest. "Sasuke-kun…" She said, her voice muffled. "I… I still… love you. I always did… and will."

"Hn," he replied. He still wished he could gather up enough courage to admit it to her as well but he couldn't. The official thing would have to wait. "Yeah… me too."

They just sat in that position for what seemed to be forever. Sakura's green eyes were stung with tears. And a single tear dripped down Sasuke's cheek, falling into her pink hair that was tucked into his chest. That was the last thing Sakura could remember, before it all went black.

**Sorry for the short chapter, but my goal is to update at least one story every five days. As I said earlier, this might be the second to last chapter of this story, but I'm not even close to being done with Smile yet… so don't worry. I can't believe I have READERS!!! It sounds so cool to say! (I amuse myself with the most unamusing things) (I know, unamusing isn't a word… thank you for pointing that out spell check but I think I'll just ignore it… there.) I know, I know… I'm talking to my computer again aren't I? Okay… I'll stop now… Please Review!!! (I do except anonymous reviews) **

**-NoOnesGal1848**


	6. The Note

**Hey everyone! I'm back from vacation! It was awesome!!! I mostly went on blue slopes and a few blacks. I had a wipeout and strained the muscles in my right arm so I'm typing kind of slow. I think this will be the last chapter of this story, so I hope you like it!**

**-NoOnesGal1848**

**Ch. 6**

**The Note**

Sakura's green eyes slowly opened, revealing a white ceiling above her aching head. She sat up to immediately be pushed back down by her sensei.

"Tsunade-sama? What happened?! Where am I?!"

"Calm down, Sakura. You're in the hospital."

"I'm back in Konoha?"

"Yes. Stay still, you'll get a headache."

Sakura moaned, suddenly realizing the pain pounding in her head.

"What happened?" She asked again.

"We found you at the gates of Konoha, unconscious."

"What about Naruto and the others?"

"They're alive… don't worry. Naruto had taken a hard blow to the head and is suffering temporarily from memory loss. He'll be fine in a few days. Ino, Kiba, and Chouji are extremely low on chakra and will take a day or two to recover. Neji and Hinata have a few broken bones and deep injuries. Rock Lee has a broken leg and many damaged cells. TenTen, Shino, and Shikamaru have a few vital organs damaged and deep wounds. They should all have fully recovered in a matter of weeks."

"I knew I should have come in with them! They needed a medic-nin. It was all my fault."

"…"

"How did I end up at the gates of Konoha anyways? –"

An image of Sasuke flashed through her mind. 'That's right… it was Sasuke… wasn't it? He said he was sorry… and… hugged me… Was I dreaming?!?! It was another one of those weird fantasizing-like dreams I used to have! I still hate his guts for betraying me!'

"Sakura, I have more patients to tend to. I'll be back later today, okay?" She stood up and left the room.

The hospital clothing was itchy and annoyed Sakura so she got up and found her normal outfit, folded neatly, on a chair near the bed. As she picked them up a small piece of paper fell to the floor.

Sakura bent down and picked up the paper, unfolding it. It was a note and written in blood, for that matter. The note read:

**Sakura**

**I never wanted things to turn out this way.**

**I'm sorry.**

**-Sasuke **

"… So it was real. It was Sasuke who brought me back… that all really happened…" Sakura mumbled, still holding the note in her hand. She squeezed it, tight, and brought it up to her heart. Tears welled up in her green orbs as she whispered, "Thank you… Sasuke-kun…"

**YAY!!! THE END. Finally! Yes, that was the last chapter of this story. In my opinion it was definitely not the best… or whatever. I'm half-asleep right now, so this is the best I could come up with. Please review and tell me what you think! If worst comes to worst I can just delete the chapter and rewrite it. REVIEW!!! (I do except anonymous reviews!)**

**-NoOnesGal1848 **


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